Invigorating life with God's grace and truth

Perched on the Shoulders of Giants (EMQ)

In October, I had the privilege of writing an article for the Evangelical Missions Quarterly entitled “Perched on the Shoulders of Giants,” reflecting on how legacy can be a positive aspect of future vision for churches on mission.

As a follow-up to the article, they invited me to join in with their monthly podcast, which was just released yesterday. Although the article is only available to EMQ subscribers, the podcast is available to everyone here.

For a taste of the topic, here is the first part of the article:

“As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.” (Josh. 1:5-6)

I have a baton sitting on my desk in my office with the verses above etched into it. It reminds me daily of the challenge and responsibility to carry forward the legacy of mission at Eastbrook Church, where I serve as senior pastor. Throughout our thirty-five years as a church, a strong sense of mission has been upheld not only by our founding senior pastor, Dr. Marc Erickson, but also by the ownership of our entire congregation. A courageous group of spiritual giants stand within the memories of Eastbrook’s history of mission like a local version of Hebrews 11.

When I took the helm just over four years ago, we entered a season of leadership transition, weathering it well by God’s grace. In the midst of this transitional time, we have worked at keeping the calling to mission central in this new era of ministry. I want to share four characteristics I have come to believe are essential for building on legacy to strengthen churches to move forward powerfully for mission.